The issue of idling vehicles is in the news again. As part of his Air Quality Strategy, the mayor wants to clamp down on motorists who leave their engines running when waiting at kerb-side. Green campaigners now say he's not moving quick enough...idling, you might say.
According to an unattributed, though believable, statement in the BBC article linked above, London has 'some of the highest levels of fine particles and nitrogen dioxide in the UK, principally from vehicle emissions'. Air quality can certainly be grim at times - you can check how fumey your neighbourhood is on the London Air Quality Network pages.
While cracking down on emissions is in everyone's interests, there are issues to overcome in introducing tougher measures. Taxi drivers waiting in ranks (which can sometimes reach epic lengths) might take umbrage at having to switch their engines on and off repeatedly, especially on cold days when this might interfere with heating. And could such a scheme be fairly enforced?
Image by DICKSDAILY in the Londonist Flickr pool.
